I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it - Voltaire

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Ustad Hotel

Surprise, surprise, is this an Anwar Rasheed film? So,
Bridge in Kerala Cafe is not a fluke after all – the man can make cinema that
is both entertaining and artistic, without making too many compromises. With
Anjali Menon wielding the pen here, Anwar creates an engaging, though at times
uneven (especially in the second half) tale of a young man who discovers his
passion and love in life, as he stumbles from the peaks of a cosy life in
Europe to a more grounded life in Kozhikode.

Ustad Hotel takes our olfactory nerve to a delicious fusion
of Western and Kerala cuisine as it tells the story of young Feyzee (Dulquer
Salman) who becomes a chef, much against the wishes of his ambitious father
Razzaq (Siddique). Circumstances force
him to reach out to his grandfather Karim (Thilakan) who runs a small but
renowned restaurant called Ustad Hotel along Kozhikode beach. Under the
tutelage of the old man, the grandson and grandfather form a bond that teaches
him valuable lessons in life. Just like the waves lashing along the beach, the
movie has a fluidity that keeps you engrossed to its narrative as it sets about
to give a meaning to young Feyzee’s life. It is a three-generational story and
as it happens, the first and third generation find a stronger bond between
themselves than the in-between one.

Feyzee is a bright, young man who is not sure where his
heart lies. Being brought up with no elderly guidance around him, except his
four elder sisters (fondly referred to as Ithatha Company), he is confused and
takes steps hesitatingly in life, without being sure of what the future holds
for him. The presence of Karim in his life at a critical time helps him to take
stock of what he needs in his life and what are his true valuables. He is a
chef who has graduated from Lausanne but he has to learn the basics that go
into the business and profession before he can enter the kitchen.

Cinematically, Feyzee learns the trade from his grandpa but
I suppose even outside the canvas of the film, young Dulquer will find himself
in the same situation when in the company of an acting powerhouse like
Thilakan. Didn’t Thilakan also act like
a godfather to Prithviraj in Indian Rupee? And the camaraderie between the two
generations, when they talk about his grandpa’s love story and the failed
father-son relationship,is very appealing. Keep in mind that it does not go
overboard; when Karim is admitted to hospital, the first thing that strikes
Feyzee is whether his grandpa will emotionally blackmail him to stay back!

Just as in Salt N’Pepper, food has a special relevance in
the movie but here it goes beyond being just a metaphor and makes its presence
practically everywhere – to that extent, it must be truly called India’s finest
food film. It is omnipresent – In the Five Star Hotel which buys the Ustad
Hotel Biryani at 35 Rs and sells it at Rs 350, the sulaimani whose secret
ingredient is Mohabbat, the Fusion Food Festival where Feyzee makes a mark but
is also insulted by a haughty customer, the parothas that are intricately
shaped in Ustad Hotel, the biryani served at a Hellen Keller Institute in
Madurai, a rock band named Kallumakayi (inspired by Avial?) – it is a film that
has its eyes firmly fixed on one’s taste buds. Anjali Menon, in a recent
interview, mentioned that most of the story was written when she was pregnant
and the conspicuous presence of food in the movie maybe partly due to that!

Anwar is at ease when he takes a dig at the orthodox Muslim
families in vadakkan Kerala, referring to their dressing, large family size and
polygamy but it is all in good taste. Two scenes stand out here – a glimpse of
the family photograph with Razaq and his burkha-clad wife (in contrast to a
similar shot of his grandparents) and another a long shot which shows the fours
sisters fully clad in burkha standing on the beach while everyone else around
there else is present in beach attire! There are no stereotypes here in the movie's representation of Muslim characters; it eschews any such nonsense and
becomes a rare instance, where the religious identity of the Muslim community
is never brought to the forefront. Anjali and Anwar are on home turf and know
Kozhikode and their cuisine well; when did a Malayalam film associate a city
other than Kochi with rock music and a night life and create a foot-tapping rock number like
Appangal Embadum Ottakku Chuttamayi?
Here, a girl like Shahana can be part of a rock band outside, travel
with a stranger at night but be mostly burkha-clad and agree to an arranged
marriage in keeping with the family conventions.

Both Diamond Necklace and Ustad Hotel struck me as movies
which have a more literary feel, with the movies like screen adaptations of
books. Possibly because they drew larger canvases around them and are
structured very well in an unhurried, uncomplicated manner. But where Ustad
Hotel wavers a bit is in its attempt to draw a finale or closing loose ends in
a very convenient but not so satisfying manner – like the father-son strained
relationship, the repayment of the bank loan, the seemingly scheming Big Hotel
guys vs the poor restaurant folks, Fayzee’s foreign girlfriend’s character or
Shahana’s (Nithya Menon) fiancée – some of these aspects seemed written only to
close specific chapters in the plot. You don’t need to make one character bad
only so that the main character emerges as the sympathetic one or audience
favourite, right? Maybe it is an odd observation but a story penned by a lady
does not have sufficiently strong lady characters!!!

It has everything going for it in the first half and as much
as I wished that this growing of age film of a young man becomes a classic, the
sudden pedantic shift to a convenient ending and the Swades touch, (including
scenes that remind you of Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film) was a tad disappointing.
It is like the director suddenly realized that there are loose ends to be tied
and so opts for an easy out but I am not entirely convinced by that sudden
diversion. It has been widely reported that the Madurai episode was inspired by
Narayanan Krishnan who runs Akshaya Trust but while that makes it very
heartening, I’m not entirely at ease with its absolute relevance in the plot.
Did his trip to Madurai make him change his mind not to leave – I don’t buy
that point entirely, though it did get a few moist eyes in the audience.

I must say that it is a very well-made film and that is
where it soars beyond Anjali’s script alone. Lokanathan’s camera gives the
Kozhikode beach a surrealistic feel and makes you feel a part of that silent
ambience that pervades its environs as Sufi Dervishes whirl in meditation. Gopi
Sundar adds to that aura, capturing the vibrations of the city and the aroma of
the various dishes that permeate at many intervals in the movie.

Specially glad that Mammootty’s son has avoided big-bash
superstar movies and both his forays have so far been attempts at intelligent
cinema. He brings a certain earnestness to the character and is believable as a
foreign-educated confused young man who traces his roots (inadvertently,
ofcourse) with the eminently-likeable Nithya Menon for company while the
colossus Thilakan effortlessly brings home the convictions of an old man who
sticks by his principles and lives without any regrets.

It is significant that for a movie that deals almost
entirely with Muslim characters, religion hardly makes a presence here (the
presence of a moderate Sufi-stance may explain this). This by itself itself may
not be an achievement but it is pretty rare for a movie to divorce the script
from religion, especially when it deals with a Muslim milieu. Anjali and Anwar,
coming together to craft a movie is indeed a rather unusual combination,
especially if you look at their career graphs but then maybe, we have been
underestimating Anwar and if Bridge and Ustad Hotel is any evidence to go by,
we Malayalees can smile as more and more directors join the bandwagon of good
cinema. What makes it more heartening is the tremendous response that the movie
has received amongst audience, making it an overwhelming success. Serious cine-goers may also want to keep an
eye on producer Listin Stephen – with a track record like Traffic, Chaappa
Kurish and now Ustad Hotel, you know he’s a name to be followed…

You have no idea! I'll be back again in October. My bank balance is taking a hit this year. By the way, two things - replied to you at long last. And secondly, disqus is acting up on my blog. I get no notifications absolutely and some comments just dont appear. :(

Again in October - that's a quick return trip, 3 trips to India within a year! Busy Anu's taking more time to reply nowadays, but that's fine - gives enough time for each of us to reply in detail. Think you have done some template changes in Disqus, was a bit confused myself while posting the comment. These tech challenges do not disappear so easily, I guess....

What to do? Eldest niece is getting married in October. Ist wedding in the second generation. :)

I haven't made any changes in Disqus - they made it all by themselves! I haven't had the time to go rooting around the template. Now, it doesn't tell me when someone comments, so I have to keep checking the blog itself. :(

I know I delayed replying, but it's been extremely hectic. By they way, "pot, meet kettle' - where have you been writing???

..and possibly many more such weddings to come, please do come to India!!!

The new comments template on your blog looks confusing enough even though you have not tampered with it. Maybe some Beta version being tested and so all these complications - can't see too much of a change at my end, though. But even if Disqus doesn't tell you when a comment comes, Blogger does, so it shouldn't tamper. I normally come to know of comments through Blogger only.

Busy with the family back, as I said hardly ever even connected to the net in this past month; slowly trying to limp back to normal writing, though don't know much of it is possible with the little one around! But the mailing will continue, thanks to the mobile...

Saw it, agreed with almost everything you wrote about the movie - the stereotypical character was the 'western' woman (hence, bad). I liked Shahana's character - an odd mix of tradition and modernity, though I wish she had more to do in the film. I heartily disliked the Madurai episode - it seemed forced, and it seemed like a forced plot point to make him stay. I wish they had kept to the grandfather-grandson relationship and that he had left for Paris as originally planned. Why would that have been so wrong? Somehow, success is seen as a pejorative in our films.

All that said, I liked the film, and I liked Dulqar Salman (Suleiman?). He has talent, is not going to remain long in his famous father's shadows (his father's 'Thappana' is running to packed houses here!), and is very comfortable in his own skin.

About Me

The word’s LAKSHYA – That’s what I am searching for in my life.I would like to take "The Road Not Taken" but remain a dreamer in words and conformist in actions. I have an opinion on most things happening around and intend to use this blog to express them.